Tuesday 27 October 2015

Pineapple Bow Blouse


I seem to be on a bit of a Gertie roll at the moment, having recently made Butterick 5953 finally after having it sit in my cupboard for a couple of years, I thought I'd have a go at her most recent design for Butterick - B6217. The instructions were really easy to follow and it would have come together super quickly had it not been for the fact that the armholes are WAY too small!


Unfortunately I only discovered this after I had sewn most of the garment so I just had to cut into it until I had the right fit. As a result the sleeves weren't quite the right shape anymore so I ended up putting on some capped sleeves instead and finished the lower section with bias binding. Thankfully it all worked out in the end because I really like this pineapple print cotton that I picked up in Hawaii recently.


I made a size 8 which was a very comfortable fit everywhere but the armholes. A couple of people on Pattern Review who had sewn a size 6 pointed out the same problem (if only I'd taken note of that first). None of the other reviewers that had made larger sizes mentioned this so maybe this is only the case for the smaller sizes. Be warned though, if you intend to make this pattern, I'd make a toile first.


I do intend to make more of these cos I think it's a really lovely pattern but I'll have to do some serious adjustment to the armhole pattern piece first. I'd like to make view C and I'd also like to try the tulip sleeves, they look really cute.


Not content with photo bombing my blog pics, Koko insisted on having a cuddle too.

Thursday 8 October 2015

I See Red


Yes, it's a whole lotta red! This is Gertie's Butterick 5953. I wasn't overly keen on this pattern at first, the cover photo on the packet didn't really do it justice but when I saw Amy's version (from Sew Amy) I knew I had to make one for myself.


Both the main red fabric and the black are a stretch cotton drill which I was a little afraid might be too thick for this dress but it's actually fine and with a bit of pressing everything seems to sit quite nicely.


I was a bit nervous about the front bands and the godet as I've never sewn one before but the instructions were very clear and it was quite simple in the end. The sleeves were a bit fiddly and I ended up with a bit of puckering but after a few too many attempts I decided to live with it.


I cut a size 8 and graded the hips out to just between size 10 and 12. Having worn it the other night though, I decided to take it in at the hips and the fit is way better now. Overall it didn't require many fitting changes and was a fairly straight forward make - I'm really happy with the end result.


And now I shall leave you with a link to one of my favourite songs from the past - "I See Red" by Split Enz - I'm not sure how far their popularity spread but for those who don't know this is what Crowded Houses' Finn brothers were doing before they grew up!